Method of producing and handling wedge-lifts



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRED VERNE HART, 0F LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF I'ATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A COR- PORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

METHOD OF PRODUCING AND HANDLING WEDGE-LIFTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 19, 1918. Serial No. 263,194.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, F RED V. HART, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Producing and Handling IVedge-Lifts; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a method of producing and handling wedge-lifts in such manner that they shall be properly arranged in a stack that may be loaded into a magazine and be acted upon by the lift-feeding mechanism of an automatic heel-building machine.

In an application for Letters Patent Serial No. 208,443, filed December 22, 1917, by Erastus E. Winkley, is disclosed an automatic heel-building machine that is pro vided with a magazine for containing a stack of wedge-lifts having their thick and thin ends disposed in alternate relation and their analogous faces directed toward the same end of the stack. Means is also provided for successively feeding the wedgelifts from the magazine and presenting them for assembly into heel-piles in such manner that the lifts occupy similar positions both with respect to their tapers and their analogous faces.

Another form of wedge-lift magazine and feeding device that is adapted to be incorporated into an automatic heel-building machine for handling wedge-lifts is that disclosed in a copending application for Letters Patent Serial No. 125,953, filed October 16, 1916 by the present applicant. In this apparatus the wedge-lifts are stacked in the magazine with their thick and thin ends alternating, but with the analogous faces of adjacent lifts in reversed relation so that the adjacent analogous faces are in contact. Feeding mechanism that is particularly adapted to handle wedge-lifts stacked in the manner referred to is provided in order to feed the lifts successively from the magazine and to present them in similar positions for assembly into heel-piles.

The object of the present invention is to provide a method of producing wedge-lifts and arranging them in stack formation suitable to be loaded into a magazine and be handled by a feeding mechanism'similar to that disclosed in the last mentioned copending application, that is-a stack formation in which the adjacently disposed wedge-lifts are arranged with their thick and thin ends alternating and their analogous faces in reversed relation, whereby the adjacent contacting faces are analogous.

In carrying out the present invention, a transversely tapering strip is fed intermittently and longitudinally to a suitable knife that cuts lifts therefrom, said lifts being progressively manipulated in pairs in such manner as to bring both their thick and thin ends and their analogous faces in reversed or alternate relation. Each pair of lifts so I manipulated is then placed in a stack for convenience in subsequent handling.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figures 1 to 5, inclusive, are views in perspective respectively illustrating successive steps in the preferred method; and Fig. 6 is a similar view of the final step showing a portion of a stack of lifts arranged in accordance with the present invention.

The transversely tapering strips from which the wedge-lifts are out, are conveniently formed by splitting a strip of-uniform thickness in a plane extending diagonally through the lateral edges thereof. A strip thus formed generally has one face at right angles to the surface of its thick lateral edge and the other face inclined thereto.

In carrying out the method illustrated in the drawings, such a transversely tapering strip S is fed step-by-step beneath a suitable knife 10, by means of'which wedge-lifts W of the desired width are successively cuttherefrom. It will be seen that lifts formed in this manner will have one face at right angles to the surface of its thick edge or end and its other face inclined thereto so that the latter face will be the longer.

In building heels it is desirable that the wedge-lifts be positioned with their longer faces directed toward the heel-seat thereof, and therefore it is necessary that the wedge lifts be stacked in the magazine of the heelbuilding machine in such manner that they may be successively fed and presented for assembly into the heel-pile in this position. The method of the present invention accom- Patented Mar. 15, 1921.

plishes this result in the following manner. immediately after a lift 3V is cut froni the strip S, which rests upon its shorter face, as shown in Fig. 1, it is moved laterally in the direction of its thick end, to one side of the strip (Fig. 2). The strip is then fed a full step and another lift is out off. These two lifts lie side-by-side in similar positions both with respect to their thick and thin ends and their analogous faces, as shown in Fig. 3. The first lift is then swung upwardly upon its thin edge to a position substantially normal to the second lift (Fig. at) in which position the longer face of the lift is directed toward the right. The second lift is then moved laterally into a position corresponding to that which the first lift initially occupied. The lateral shifting of the movement of the second lift carries the lower thin end of the first lift with it and thereby causes the first lift to tilt and fall 7 upon the second lift, in such manner as to bring the analogous longer faces of the lifts in engagement and the thick and thin ends of the lifts in opposite relations, as illustrated in Fig. 5.

After each two successive lifts are sev ered from the strip and brought together into the desired relation, as above described, they are, for convenience in subsequent handling, swung upwardly upon the thick end of the lower or second lift to form parts of a horizontal stack (F ig. 6) in which the lifts are arranged with their thick and thin endsalternating and their analogous faces in reversed relation and in contact the one with the other.

As soon as the first pair of lifts has been removed from the path of movement of the strip and stacked in the manner described, the strip is again advanced and the cycle of operations is repeated to similarly cut and stack other pairsof lifts.

Although for illustrative purposes the present invention has been described in connection with wedge shaped polygonalheel lifts, it should be understood that the inventionis not inany way restricted to the handling of such blanks, but is generally applicable to any character of wedge shaped articles or blanks of sheet material.

The nature and scope of the invention having been indicated and the preferred method of practising it specifically described, what is claimed as new is:

1. The method of forming a stack of wedge-lifts from a transversely tapering strip of sheet material which includes cutting lifts successively from the strip and progressively stacking the successively cut lifts in face-to-face relation with their thick and thin ends alternating and their analogous faces in reversed relation.

2. The method of forming a stack of wedge-lifts from a transversely tapering strip of sheet material which includes cutting lifts successively from said strip, and progressively stacking said lifts as they are cut in pairs in face-to-face relation with their thick and thin ends alternating and their analogous faces in contact.

3. The method of forming a stack of wedge-lifts from a transversely tapering strip of sheet material which includes interinittently andlongitudinally advancing the strip, successively cutting wedge-lifts therefrom, and progessively manipulating said lifts to bring them into stacked relation with their thick and thin ends alternating and their analogous faces in reversed relation.

4. The method of forming a stack of wedge-lifts from a transversely tapering strip of sheet material which includes cutting lifts successively from the strip, reversing the position. of every alternately cut lift with respect to its faces and its taper and stacking said lifts with their thick and thin ends alternating and analogous faces in contact. I

5. The method of hadling wedge-lifts which includes intermittently feeding said lifts successively, and manipulating said liftsiu pairs to arrange them in a stack with their thick and thin ends alternating and their analogous faces in reversed relation.

6. The method of forming a stack of wedge-lifts from a transversely tapering stri.p, wliich includes cutting a lift from said strip, moving said lift laterally in the direction of its thick end to one side of the strip, cutting a second lift from said strip, swinging the first lift upwardly about its thin end into vertical position and moving the second lift into the lateral position occupied by the first lift, whereby said first lift is caused to fell upon the second lift with its taper and its faces reversed with respect to those of the second lift.

'7. The method of forming a stackof wedge-lifts from a transversely tapering strip of sheet n'iaterial which includes cut ting lifts successively from said strip, and manipulating said lifts in pairs to reverse the alternate lifts both with respect to their tapers and their faces, and arranging said lifts in pairs in a stack with their thick and thin ends and analogous faces of adjacent lifts in reversed relation.

F RED V ERNE HART. 

